Scraping and cleaning device

ABSTRACT

A scraping and cleaning device which, when attached to a container of cleaning fluid, facilitates removal of dirt, soil, ice, frost and like material from windows, mirrors, windshields, etc. The device has an elongated body element with a curved or arcuate shaped cross section adapted to fit snugly against the side wall of a container. The body element may include at least one pair of opposing integrally curved fingers, which body element and fingers combined preferably form an arc or curve of greater than 180* for snap-on attachment of the same to the side wall of a container. Integral, transversely elongated scraping and cleaning blade sections diverge from the body element. One section of the blade sections is provided on its outer end with a smooth beveled edge or squeegee and amother blade section of the blade sections is provided on its outer end with a coarse serrated or toothed edge.

atent n 1 United States Hutter 1 SCRAPING AND CLEANING DEVICE [75]Inventor: Wayne R. IIntter, Sanford, Mich.

[73] Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company,

Midland, Mich.

[22] Filed: May 27, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 147,478

2,886,839 I 5/1959 Leopold: 15/105 X 2,946,076 7/1960 Morgan 15/236 R3,036,322 5/1962 Jorgenson 15/236 R 2,719,316 10/1955 Hauser /236 RFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 909,288 10/1962 Great Britain 15/121Aug. 28, 1973 Primary Examiner-Leon G. Machlin Attorney-Griswold &Burdick, Richard G. Waterman and Arthur J. Young [5 7] ABSTRACT Ascraping and cleaning device which, when attached to a container ofcleaning fluid, facilitates removal of dirt, soil, ice, frost and likematerial from windows, mirrors, Windshields, etc. The device has anelongated body element with a curved or arcuate shaped cross sectionadapted to fit snugly against the side wall of a container. The bodyelement may include at least one pair of opposing integrally curvedfingers, which body element and fingers combined preferably form an areor curve of greater than for snap-on attachment of the same to the sidewall of a container. Integral, transversely elongated scraping andcleaning blade sections diverge from the body element. One section ofthe I blade sections is provided on its outer end with a smooth bevelededge or squeegee and amother blade section of the blade sections isprovided on its outer end with a coarse serrated or toothed edge.

16 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 28, 1973 3,754,831

2 Sheets-sheaf l 48 INVENTOR. Way/2 eR. f/u/fer Patented Aug. 28, 19733,754,831

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i 5:50 34 'I 1 4, s? 5 M4 46 i I 40 ,/42 44 1 I E l I6' Z 54 lb I: 54 '?r54 INVENTOR. W y e R. flu/fer BY SCRAPING ANDCLEANING-DEVICE The present invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in scraping and cleaning devices for windows, mirrors,Windshields, etc., and more particularly to a device which can besnapped onto or otherwise attached to a bottle or container tofacilitate the removal of dirt, soil, ice, frost or other material froman automobile windshield or the like.

A number of scraping and cleaning devices have been previously proposedfor the general purposes herein disclosed. These prior art devices havea number of shortcomings however. Many cannot be nested or stacked.Thus, when the containers with attached cleaning and scraping devicesare shipped, stored or displayed, a substantial amount of space iswasted. Other prior art devices, although providing a nesting orstacking design, do not provide a sufiicient or satisfactory cleaning orscraping contact area to facilitate rapid and effective cleaning by theuser. A further disadvantage of some prior art devices is that, whilethey are suitable for removing dirt and soil, they are a totallyunsuited for the removal of relatively hard materials such as ice. Astill further disadvantage of other prior art devices is that they tendto loosen or come off the container easily during use.

In general, the scraping and cleaning device herein disclosed is adaptedfor rapid and easy attachment to a container of cleaning fluid, such asa deicer composition, which, when used in combination therewith, willfacilitate the removal of dirt, soil, ice, frost and other material froman automobile windshield or the like. The device has an elongated bodyelement with a curved or arcuate shaped cross section adapted to fitsnugly against the wall of a container. The body element may include atleast one pair of opposing integrally curved fingers, which body elementand fingers combined preferably form an-arc or curve of greater than 180for snap-on attachment of the same to the wall of a container. Integral,transversely elongated,

scraping and cleaning blade sections diverge from the body element andhave a transverse width substantially that of the container wall lengthto provide a larger scraping and cleaning contact area. The bladesections which are preferably divergent or outwardly extending from thebody element may be parallel with respect to each other or divergingaway from or converging toward or otherwise disposed to each other andmay have a straight or curved cross sectional shape. One blade sectionis provided on-its outer end of a smooth beveled edge or squeegee andanother blade section is provided on its outer end with a coarseserrated or toothed edge.

The combination of the container and body element functions as a handlefor the device with the body element including integral elongated ridgesfor improved handgripping. The position of the blade sections allowscontainers with attached scraping and cleaning devices to be nestedand/or stacked for shipment, storage and display. I

The device can be produced by any known means from materials such aswood, metal or plastic resins, but is preferably produced by extrusionor injection molding of polystyrene or other like-thermoplasticsynthetic organic resinous material.

As previously noted, the curved body element ma include fingers whichtogether preferably form an are or curve of greater than 180 for snap-onattachment to a container. More preferably however, the body element andfingers define an are or curve of 200 or more so that they will embraceand firmly clasp a container to which the device is attached. However,integral curve fingers, although preferred, need not be formed with thebody element. An adhesive may be used to bond the device onto acontainer and/or circumferential bonds may be placed around thecontainer and securely fixed to the body element or fingers, ifincluded.

The invention herein described is directed toward but not limited to, ascraping and cleaning device for a pressurized cylindrical aerosolcontainer adapted for dispensing a spray deicer composition onto thewindows or windshield of an automobile. Pressurized aerosol containersare commonly employed for dispensing a spray deicer composition onto thewindows or windshield of an automobile in order to remove frost and thinice formations therefrom. With presently known deicer compositions it isgenerally difficult to quickly remove relatively thick ice formationsfrom the surfaces of the automobile windows or Windshields andconsequently a separate scraping device must be employed to supplementand aid the action of a deicer composition to remove such thick iceformations. Thus, it will be evident that, in order to properly operatea conventional aerosol container, a definite procedure must ordinarilybe followed which may involve a number of steps, especially when aseparate scrapingdevice is employed to remove relatively thick iceformations as hereinabove described.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a scrapingand cleaning device for attachment to a container adapted for dispensinga cleaning fluid, preferably a deicer composition, onto the windows orwindshield of an automobile or the like.

' Another object is to provide a scraping and cleaning device forbreaking away relatively thick ice formations while being used in'conjunction with a deicer composition.

Yet another object of the present invention is to providea container ofcleaning fluid with a cleaning device of the character herein describedwhich will readily facilitate nesting and/or stacking of the containerand device during shipment, storage and display.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention are even moreapparent when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich like characters of reference designate corresponding material andparts throughout the several views thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a cylindrical aerosol container and anattached scraping and cleaning device constructed according to theprinciples of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view taken: from the right side of FIG. l whichfurther illustrates the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the cleaning and scraping device ofFIG. 2 taken along reference line 3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a view like FIG. I only with a cleaning and scraping devicehaving a modified cross section;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view taken from the right side of the FIG. 4which further illustrates the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the cleaning and scraping device ofFIG. 5 taken along reference line 6-6 thereof;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a relatively simple embodimentshowing a rubber squeegee which may be used in conjunction with thecleaning and scraping devices illustrated in FIGS. l-6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of the nesting characteristics ofcylindrical containers and attached cleaning and scraping devicesillustrated in FIGS. 13; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of the nesting characteristics ofcylindrical containers and attached cleaning and scraping devicesillustrated in FIGS. 4-6.

The following description illustrates the manner in which the principlesof the invention are applied but are not to be construed as limiting thescope of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, 2 and 3, thereis shown a cleaning and scraping device, generally designated 10,attached to a pressurized aerosol container 26 of conventionalconstruction. The container 26 is usually cylindrical in shape and isprovided with lower and upper annular beads 25 and 27, respectively. Thecleaning and scraping device 10 includes an elongated curved bodyelement 12 with an arcuate shaped cross section and two pair of integralcurved fingers 14. The body element 12 and the fingers 14 combined toform an arc of 200 for firmly clasping or attaching the device 10 tocontainer 26. The body element 12 also has integral, transverselyelongated, scraping and cleaning blades 16 and 18, respectively,diverging therefrom. The blades 16 and 18 which diverge outwardly fromsaid body element 12 are parallel with respect to each other and have astraight cross sectional shape. Blade 16 is provided on its outer endwith a serrated or toothed scraping edge 20. Blade 18 is provided on itsouter edge with a beveled scraping edge 22. The beveled scraping edge 22has a radius of about mils or more since it has been found that abeveled edge of this type is more effective for cleaning away hardmaterials such as ice than is a sharp edge having a radius ofsubstantially less than 5 mils. Also included in device are integrallyformed webs 28 which provides structural support between body element 12and blades 16 and 18, respectively, and integrally formed elongatedridges 24 for better hand-gripping of device 10.

Another preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4,5 and 6. As there shown, the snap-on cleaning and scraping device 30 issimilar to the cleaning and scraping device 10 illustrated in FIGS.

l, 2 and 3, except that the blade 36 and 38, which are counter parts ofblades 16 and 18, respectively, diverge away from each other and have anarcuate shaped cross section. Other elements of the device 30 such asthe curved body element 32, fingers 34, serrated or toothed edge 40,beveled edge 42 and elongated ridges 44 are essentially the same asthose shown in device 10 at I2, 14, 20, 22, and 24, respectively. Aspreviously noted in device 10, the body element 32 and the finger 34form an arc of about 200 to facilitate the firm clasping or attachmentof the device 30 to container 46. Container 46 is usually cylindrical inshape and has lower and upper annular beads 45 and 47, respectively.Since. the body element 32 and finger 34 formed an arc of about 200, itis desirable that the blades 36 and 38 form an arc of about l60, thusdefining the complete circumference of a circle which facilitatesnesting of the containers 46 and attached cleaning and scraping devices30.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a modified outer edge attachment to blade 18,shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is illustrated. The blade 18, shown in FIG. 7,has fixed on its outer edge a rubber squeegee 48. The rubber squeegee 48may be attached to blade 18 with an adhesive or other known means. Thesqueegee 48 may also be attached in like manner to blade 38 illustratedin FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, the nesting or stacking characteristicsof containers 26 and 46, and attached cleaning and scraping devices 10and 30, respectively, are illustrated.

The devices 10 and 30 of the invention may be used as follows: Bygripping the cylindrical portion of the aerosol containers 26 and 46 andthe body elements 12 and 32 in one hand, either the scraping or cleaningedges of blades 16 or 18 and 36 or 38 may be engaged with the dirt,soil, ice, frost or like materials on the surface of windows, mirrors,Windshields and the like. Using the index finger on the hand which gripsthe containers 26 or 46, the valve actuator button, not shown in thedrawings, is pressed to release the cleaning or deicer fluid onto thesurface to be cleaned. After the fluid contacts the surface, the handmanipulated action of the cleaning and scraping blades will supplement,assist and aid the action of the fluid dispensed, thus removing theforeign matter from the surface.

As previously pointed out, the invention herein disclosed is directedtoward, but not limited to, a pressurized cylindrical aerosol containerof a deicer composition. By modifying the ends of the blades on thescraping and cleaning devices with the rubber squeegee shown in FIG. 7or other like elements and employing different cleaning fluids, thedevices may be used for other cleaning purposes such as cleaning windowsin buildings. Also, the devices are not limited by their attacment tothe side wall of cylindrical containers, as shown in the preferredembodiments, in that the body element and/or fingers, if included, maybe modified as to cross sectional shape to firmly embrace containershaving other cross sectional configurations such as an oval shape.

While certain representative embodiments in detail have been shown forthe purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modification can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A scraping and cleaning device adapted for attachment to a containerof cleaning fluid comprising, an elongated body element with a curvedshaped cross section adapted to fit snugly against a wall of saidcontainer and integral, transversely elongated, scraping and cleaningblade sections extending outwardly from said body element, one sectionof said blade sections provided on its outer end with a smooth bevelededge and another blade section of said blade sections provided on itsouter end with a coarse edge.

2. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said body elementincludes at least one pair of opposing integrally curved fingers.

3. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 2 wherein said body elementand fingers combine to form an arc'or curve of greater than 180 forsnap-on attachment of the same to the wall of said container.

4. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said body elementis bonded to said container with an adhesive.

5. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said bladesections have a transverse width substantially that of said containerwall length to provide a large scraping and cleaning contact area.

6. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said smoothbeveled edge is arcuate and has a radius of about 5 mils or more.

7. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said one sectionof said blade sections has a squeegee fixed on its outer end.

8. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said device isinjection molded from thermoplastic synthetic organic resinous material.

9. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 8 wherein saidthermoplastic synthetic organic resinous material is polystyrene.

10. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said device isattached to said container of cleaning fluid and said container is apressurized cylindrical aerosol container adapted for dispensing a sprayof deicer composition onto the windows or windshield of an automobile.

11. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said bladesections are two separate parallel blades having a straight crosssectional shape.

12. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said bladesections are two blades which diverge away from each other and have anarcuate cross sectional shape. 7

13. The scraping and cleaning device of claim I wherein said blades arespaced apart sufficiently to allow said container and attached device tobe nested with another like container and device between said blades.

14. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said coarse edgeis a serrated edge.

15. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said coarse edgeis a toothed edge.

16. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said wall of thecontainer is a side wall.

1. A scraping and cleaning device adapted for attachment to a containerof cleaning fluid comprising, an elongated body element with a curvedshaped cross section adapted to fit snugly against a wall of saidcontainer and integral, transversely elongated, scraping and cleaningblade sections extending outwardly from said body element, one sectionof said blade sections provided on its outer end with a smooth bevelededge and another blade section of said blade sections provided on itsouter end with a coarse edge.
 2. The scraping and cleaning device ofclaim 1 wherein said body element includes at least one pair of opposingintegrally curved fingers.
 3. The scraping and cleaning device of claim2 wherein said body element and fingers combine to form an arc or curveof greater than 180* for snap-on attachment of the same to the wall ofsaid container.
 4. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 whereinsaid body element is bonded to said container with an adhesive.
 5. Thescraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said blade sections havea transverse width substantially that of said container wall length toprovide a large scraping and cleaning contact area.
 6. The scraping andcleaning device of claim 1 wherein said smooth beveled edge is arcuateand has a radius of about 5 mils or more.
 7. The scraping and cleaningdevice of claim 1 wherein said one section of said blade sections has asqueegee fixed on its outer end.
 8. The scraping and cleaning device ofclaim 1 wherein said device is injection molded from thermoplasticsynthetic organic resinous matErial.
 9. The scraping and cleaning deviceof claim 8 wherein said thermoplastic synthetic organic resinousmaterial is polystyrene.
 10. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1wherein said device is attached to said container of cleaning fluid andsaid container is a pressurized cylindrical aerosol container adaptedfor dispensing a spray of deicer composition onto the windows orwindshield of an automobile.
 11. The scraping and cleaning device ofclaim 1 wherein said blade sections are two separate parallel bladeshaving a straight cross sectional shape.
 12. The scraping and cleaningdevice of claim 1 wherein said blade sections are two blades whichdiverge away from each other and have an arcuate cross sectional shape.13. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said blades arespaced apart sufficiently to allow said container and attached device tobe nested with another like container and device between said blades.14. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1 wherein said coarse edgeis a serrated edge.
 15. The scraping and cleaning device of claim 1wherein said coarse edge is a toothed edge.
 16. The scraping andcleaning device of claim 1 wherein said wall of the container is a sidewall.